Dark Moon
by KarenaWilliams
Summary: [Fatal FrameProject Zero II: Crimson Butterfly Novelization] The passing of time is nothing, compared to the horror that lies in wait for the two twins: Mio and Mayu. The sacrifice is approaching, encroaching them both in its snares, making it so that the
1. Chapter One

**Authoress:** KarenaWilliams  
**Disclaimer:** Karena owns absolutely nothing. She does not own Fatal Frame/Project Zero, she does not own Crimson Butterfly, and she does not own the characters in the game. She does, however, own a copy of the game. But that, alas, is all. I do, also, however, own any dialogue I might throw in, just to make some things make sense and to add some flavor. So…that's pretty much it.  
**Idea Created on:** Sunday, October 1, 2006; 11:48 am  
**Original Title:** Dark Moon  
**Renamed Title:** N/A  
**Summary:** **Fatal Frame/Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly Novelization** The passing of time is nothing, compared to the horror that lies in wait for the two twins: Mio and Mayu. The sacrifice is approaching, encroaching them both in its snares, making it so that they must go on and face this destiny with only each other to keep them afloat. Will they live or will they die, it all depends on the choices they make. It all depends on their resourcefulness and their cunning. Hopefully those two things are plenty in them, for they will certainly need it. The sacrifice is approaching, what will they do? All pairings/hints inside  
**Pairings/Hints:** Mio/Mayu(hints); Itsuki/Mutsuki (hints); Sae/Yae (hints); Sae/Itsuki (hints); Yae/Ryozo(hints); Chitose/Itsuki (hints)  
**Thanks goes to:** The great Phan Nguyen Khanh Dan "Mysticcat", for making one awesome walkthrough that I could refer to whenever I got stuck. Project Zero/The creation team for this wonderful game. Bishie (not on for all those who are wondering) for helping me out whenever I got stuck. Anyone else, who might have told me when I did something wrong or helped me with the dialogue. It was very hard, getting this dialogue.  
**WARNING(S):** Incest, Yuri, Yaoi, Violence, Language

Author's Notes: Welcome to the first installment of _Dark Moon_. I'm going to attempt and write this fully out. This is my first fanfictionalization...or whatever, so…please be kind to me. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this first chapter and reviews, if they get the chance. I'd like to know if I did ANYTHING wrong with this. I don't want to screw up the dialogue or anything. The dialogue is really hard to get. I had to refer to tons of other things, just to get the VERY beginning, when one of the girls are whispering. sweat drops Hope you all enjoy and review, once you're done. Not sure how long this'll be and it's, also, my first attempt at Yaoi, Yuri, and Incest. So…please regard me kindly.

** Dark Moon **

  


-Chapter One: Running- 

_Didn't we always promise each other…that we would always be together?_

The memory, in her mind, was scratchy, almost faded, but the feelings caused from it lived on. They lived on within her, tortured her every time she saw her twin sister in pain from having to walk. They were running down a forest path, Mio drawing up the head as Mayu tried to keep up from behind. Mio could hear Mayu yells, as if she was yelling them right at this moment. Could hear her trying to get her sister to slow down, just for her, just for a moment.

Then the memory shifted, became something else. "Mayu! Mayu!" Mio remembered calling, remembered the panic clawing at her throat as she retraced her steps. She was glancing around, almost wildly, trying to find her twin. Where was she? She walked forward and that was when she saw it. A slight disturbance on the ground, as if a foot had slid sideways, and Mio's gut clenched. Mio ran forward, glancing over the edge of the sheer drop, and felt tears spring to her eyes. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She called, trying to keep from crying and sobbing but failing miserably.

Mio withdrew from that memory, brought herself back to the present, and blankly stared at the little stream placed in front of where she was seated. Her dark brown eyes stared silently, as she took everything in. That was when she felt hands placed on her shoulders, a familiar warmth spreading through her when she felt her twin standing directly behind her. "We used to play here all the time." Mayu said softly, as she glanced down at her twin. Mio glanced up, titling her head backwards so that she could see the girl who looked so much like herself.

Mayu had her hair styled a bit different but it didn't take away from the prettiness about her. The paleness, the delicate way her skin looked in the shimmering sun. She always had looked delicate, fragile, even when they were younger. Even before the…accident. Mio studied her sister, wondering silently when it had all began. When Mayu started to get so sick so easily. She couldn't really remember, not as good as she could remember other things.

"…Yeah…" Mio replied, glancing back over at the gurgling stream. She felt sadness, thinking that this place might be gone soon. She didn't want it to leave yet. She wanted it to stay, forever, but that wasn't possible. Soon enough they would damn up the river and no one would be able to come here anymore.

"All of this will be gone soon." Mayu said, as if reading her twin sister's thoughts. She seated herself behind Mio, placing her back against Mio's own. They sat like that, back to back, and didn't speak for another moment. Mio allowed herself to drift in her thoughts, thinking back on the accident which brought her so much guilt. It brought Mayu so much pain, since it left her with a limp. Her leg was injured, she having to always wear an athletic bandage around it. Taking the direction her mind had taken, she asked the question that had been nagging at her mind ever since they began their little hike to see this place one last time.

"Is your leg OK? Does it hurt?" Mio asked, feeling guilty and sad that her sister had to suffer. She had to suffer because of Mio's own foolishness. She would always feel this way, this insufferable guilt, while her sister would always feel the pain of her leg. Mayu shifted, as if uncomfortable to answer the question her sister had just asked, but eventually answered nonetheless.

"It does a little but…I'm fine." Mayu said and then left it at that. Mio went back to her thoughts, silently regarding everything around her. Everything would be gone soon. This place wouldn't stand here as a place of memories. Mio felt somewhat sad, that it would soon all be covered with water, but otherwise didn't really mind all that much. She had more important things to worry about. Like how she had to keep her and her sister afloat in the world. She had to work just to make sure they had a place to stay and food to eat. She had to work harder to make sure they had clothes to wear. Even harder if they just wanted something that would bring them a little happiness and light in the world.

Mayu felt horrible, since Mio had to work so hard and she couldn't do anything, but there was nothing she could do about that. She just had to put up with it and stomach it. She felt horrible, thinking that it was more her fault about her leg than her sister's. She should have been more careful. She should have paid more attention to where she was going, to make sure there weren't any loose rocks. Mio had done it so easily, why couldn't she have? Why couldn't she have just made sure that she wouldn't bring pain to her sister? It made her feel horrible, just thinking about it.

"Mio?" Mayu ventured shyly, not sure, exactly, what she was going to say to her twin. There was so much going on in her head, she wasn't sure what she would say. What she might blurt out without thinking about it. Mio wouldn't blame her, though. She wouldn't take anything Mayu might say to heart. She was just that much of a sister. She wouldn't take the hurtful things to heart, because she knew Mayu didn't mean it, and would always love her unconditionally. Again, Mayu felt that bad feeling in her stomach, telling her that she was just a burden to her twin. Just a thing that Mio had to take care of, regardless of whether she wanted to or not.

"Yes?" Mio asked, as her eyes continued to take in the surroundings. She tilted her head slightly, so that her ears would be better adjusted to pick up whatever Mayu would say next, but she didn't have to worry. Mayu lost her courage and shirked out of it, at the last minute.

"…Never mind." Mayu said and sighed under her breath, sad that she hadn't said anything. She would always be like this, backing out at the last moment. That was when her soft brown eyes caught something. A flash of red. Butterfly. She heard something in her head, a soft whispering to her mind, and that was when she got to her feet. She stumbled and limped towards them, silently going through the wooded area that surrounded the clearing she and her sister had been in. She didn't even warn Mio she had left. She just went. It was a feeling, deep in her gut, that was telling her to go. So she did.

Mio, on the other hand, was lost in another memory. She was little again, running down the path with Mayu trotting along as fast as she could behind her. "Come on! Come on!" Mio called back to her sister, being slightly anxious to get home. Their grandparents were supposed to be coming to visit and they hadn't seen them in so long. Mio was excited, she wanted to get home as soon as possible. She pushed herself faster, trying to get there sooner.

"Wait!" Mayu called pathetically, pushing herself to run faster. She never was very fast. She was always picked last in the games they played at school and was usually always picked on. Mio had to stand up for her, since she was her twin, and Mayu felt bad that her sister had to work so hard to protect her twin. Mayu tried to go faster, tried to push herself, but all ready her lungs were starting to burn from the work out. "Mio, please! Don't leave me!" Mayu called out, gasping and trying to fill her lungs with breath once more.

That was when she lost her footing, sending herself spirawling off of the path and down the steep slope on the other side of it. She screamed, falling fast and hard to the ground below. She blacked out before she had even hit the ground, feeling the pain spike to an unbearable degree in her leg. She didn't wake up and she didn't hear when Mio started to call for her.

Mio froze, whirling around and blinking a few times. Mayu was no where to be found. Mio took a few slow steps back towards where she had last heard her sister, glancing around from side to side. "Mayu?" She called and then the memory faded.

Mio jerked herself back to the present, taking a deep breath and preparing herself. Preparing herself for the worst that could happen. "Mayu, about that time back then…" She began but then froze. "Mayu?" She called as she turned around, hoping to see that her sister had just decided to take a nap or something. But she was gone, no where to be seen in the clearing, and that made Mio's heart start to hammer in worry and anxiety. And in a bad feeling that was creeping into her mind and heart.

That was when Mio spotted her, almost gone in the forest that surrounded the clearing. She could barely see her sister limping after red butterflies, seemingly trying to get to them. Mio surged to her feet, turning around fully as she stared in wide eyed horror. Something was wrong, something was going to happen that would be so wrong. Something that involved those butterflies. "Mayu!" Mio yelled, giving chase to her twin sister. She crashed through the trees, trying to catch up, but all ready something was coming over them. Something horrible. "Where are you going!" Mio yelled out, pushing her way through the trees around her and trying to catch up.

That was when something unexpected happened. The trees changed, from a bright green and brown to a dark and formidable gray. A blend of grays and blacks, making the forest suddenly feel suppressive. Mio got disorientated and whirled around, trying to figure out what had happened, when she saw her sister again. She was still chasing those insects, her hand out stretched as if trying to catch one. Mio set off again, rushing towards her goal and trying not to trip over any of the errant foliage at her feet. "No, stop, wait!" Mio called, still running head long after her beloved sibling.

That was when she lost sight of her sister, lost her in her line of vision. Mio felt her stomach roil and she felt like retching. Something was horribly wrong. Something was wrong. "Ma…yu…?" Mio called, turning around in a circle as she tried to find her. She couldn't see anything. Everything in her line of vision was just trees, grey and stark and pressing in on her. Mio kept running, finally stumbling onto a path. Her stumble made her jerk hard, her body moving forward as if she was going to fall. Luckily for Mio, she had enough grace to catch herself in time before she went tumbling to the ground.

She righted herself, her dark brown eyes glancing around in hopes of finding her twin. She walked forward, hoping to find her sister, but there was no such luck yet. She started to run, hoping to find her sooner, and the path lead her seemingly towards where the singing was.

Wait. Singing?

Mio stopped, for just a moment, and cocked her head. Her ear went up into the wind, bringing the deep voices of people singing to her. She listened and then shook her head, not wanting to know what they were singing about. It sounded foreboding, making the skin on her arms prick and goose bumps appeared on her skin. She shook her head, clearing it of the singing, and continued forward. She had to find her sister, before anything bad happened and they would be separated by more distance than she would like to be between them.

Mio walked forward, one foot in front of the other, but stumbled many times. It was dark. It was suddenly night, the moon above lending little to no light down to the pathway before Mio. Night. When had it turned night? They hadn't been running that long. Mio felt another case of goose bumps flash up her arm but ignored them, as she continued her trek onwards to find her sister. She crested a hill, a hill that the path had lead her to, when she heard soft sobbing sounds.

Her heart clenched, fearing it was her sister and she was afraid. Mio ran quickly forward, words springing to her lips, but they all died when she saw that it wasn't Mayu. She looked a lot like Mayu, from the back, but there was one stark difference. She was in a plain white kimono, with a dark grayish looking obi tied around her. She had her head in her hands and was sobbing into her palms. Now that Mio was close enough, she could hear the girl saying something into her palms, a soft murmuring of sound. "I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…" She said, over and over, and the phrase made Mio remind herself of Mayu. She said that a lot too.

Mio reached forward, probably to grasp the girl's shoulder and shake her. To try and console her, something. She knew she had to do SOMETHING, but before she could even grasp her solidly, the girl vanished. Completely. Mio blinked and jerked her hand back, staring at the place the girl had been with a slightly open mouth. That was when the butterfly flitted lazily in front of her, going towards a different direction, and Mio turned to see where it was going.

Mayu stood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a small village below that, and was just staring out at it. "Where is this?" Mio said softly as she noticed the village but, realizing that she had finally found her sister, she dragged herself back to that. "Mayu…" Mio said softly, as she took a step forward towards her twin. Mayu turned, crimson butterflies erupting all around her body and flying away from her, into the night.

"The Lost Village." Was all she said. Mio just stared at her, wondering what she meant, and then she realized she must be talking about that small little town below them. Mio turned to stare down at it, for a moment, and got a sense she didn't want to go down there. They should leave. Now. Mio turned back to her sister, hugging her tightly as she felt relief bubble in her. Mayu was okay. They were together again. Mio felt glad, happy, and relieved all at the same time. Mayu wrapped her arms around her sister's shoulders, pulling her deeper into the hug as well. When they split apart, Mayu had a light tingle of pink spritzed across her cheeks, which made Mio confused. Then she shook herself, mentally, and brought herself back to the present.

"I heard about this place, a long time ago." Mayu began and Mio could tell that she was going to speak for longer than normal. Usually Mayu didn't speak much, since she was shy and reclusive. She did, however, speak a lot when it was to her twin. Mio listened carefully to what her twin was saying, figuring she might be getting a 'sense' of the place. Mayu did that, sometimes. Mio did that too but…not very often. Mio went back to listening, jerking her thoughts away from other things and back to what Mayu was speaking about. "People who got lost in the woods would end up trapped here. Could this be that place?"

Mio had listened carefully to the speech her sister had just given and then glanced around. There was fires flickering on torches, bursting into a bright flaring life every once in awhile and then going back to being just dull glows. Mio glanced around one last time before turning back to her twin. "We should leave. I don't like it here. Let's find a way out." Mio said and then turned, walking off to do exactly what she said she was going to do. Mayu followed obediently behind her twin, limping slightly and staggering along in Mio's wake.

"I heard singing before but…there's nobody here." Mayu said and her eyes cast themselves about, as she tried to make sure she was correct about the last part of her statement. No one was here, not as far as she could tell. That made her worried. Who had been singing that ghostly song, just a little bit before she had arrived here? Just a little bit before Mio had found her? Mayu shivered, feeling like something cold had just trailed down her spine, and hurried to keep up with her sibling.

Mio stopped, glancing around as she tried to find the path they had used to get to the village. Her eyes froze, as soon as she saw there was no path. No path. Where had it gone? A path could not simply disappear, not in a few moments, and that made her worried. Mio inspected closer, hoping to see that she had been wrong and that the path had just been hidden. That there were bushes closing it off from view and that, if you didn't look close enough, you wouldn't see it at all. There was no path, however, and that made Mio feel her stomach roll.

"There should have been a path here, under this arch." Mayu said softly, glancing up at the arch that rose above both of their heads. Mio shook her head, turning around and spotting another path.

"Come on. Let's try this path." She said and walked on, hearing her sister hobble along after her. This path wasn't in the same direction they had come from, which had been the thing to tell Mio that it wasn't the path they had both taken to get here, to this village. Mio and Mayu walked along, pretty much quiet in their trek, until they came to a bridge. A very old bridge. One that made the hairs on the back of Mio's neck stand on end.

"Over there…" Mayu said, pointing one slender finger to across the bridge. Mio looked to where she was pointing, seeing large pieces of something poking up into the air. They looked like…grave markings. That thought made Mio feel uneasy about the place, almost the exact moment she thought it. "Looks like a cemetery."

"We shouldn't go that way, anyways." Mio said and turned back around, walking off back towards the clearing and the hill they had come from. "The bridge is old. We don't have a light. It wouldn't be safe to cross that."

Mayu nodded, trusting her sister's judgment, and followed her back to the hill. They stopped, glancing around, and Mio felt a bit of panic wedge itself into her. What were they going to do? Mio didn't want to go down to the village, that felt wrong. Like something bad would happen if they went down there and that they wouldn't be able to escape from it. But what choice did they have? None. They would have to go down to the village and find out if any of the villagers could get them out of here.

Mio spotted a trail that seemed to lead down to the village and walked across the clearing, strait past the weird thing in the middle with the talismans all over ropes, surrounding a large slab of rock, and to the path. "Come on." Mio said quietly to her twin, walking along on the path. She was about to start jogging when she realized two things. One was that her sister wouldn't be able to keep up. Another was that there was a bag right at her feet. Mayu bent down, picking it up and flipping it open.

Mio took a step closer, pushing up her body against the side of Mayu's so that she could glance into the bag as well. Mayu glanced at her sister, for a moment, and a flush took over her cheeks before she went back to the bag. "What's in it?" Mio asked, looking somewhat interested. Mayu picked out two newspaper clippings in a plastic bag, some random papers about geological land fixtures, and then some candy. They glanced over the clippings, eyebrows furrowing in thought. Finally they put it all back into the bag and Mio slung it over her shoulder, making sure it was latched on so that they wouldn't lose it.

"Who's is this, I wonder?" Mayu said softly as they both began their trek back down towards the village, both lost in thought about the place and feeling some unidentified feeling as they drew near. "Who else is here?"

--- End Chapter One: Running --- 


	2. Chapter Two

**Authoress:** KarenaWilliams

**Disclaimer:** Karena owns absolutely nothing. She does not own Fatal Frame/Project Zero, she does not own Crimson Butterfly, and she does not own the characters in the game. She does, however, own a copy of the game. But that, alas, is all. I do, also, however, own any dialogue I might throw in, just to make some things make sense and to add some flavor. So…that's pretty much it. br 

**Author's Note:** Yet another chapter. It really is getting very hard to get all of the dialogue. I mean it. And when your brother is nosy and likes to ask you "Why are you playing that part AGAIN? Aren't you, like, four chapters ahead of that?" it really gets annoying. Anyways, please enjoy this next installment. Thanks so much for reading and feel free to drop a line by reviewing whenever you wish. I'm really having fun with this fic.

** Dark Moon **

-Chapter Two: House of Osaka-

Mio shrugged her shoulders at her sister's questions before turning, glancing back towards whether the dim village lights twinkled. "Come on." She said lightly, setting off again. Mayu walked off after her, just slightly behind her twin, and limped along, trying to keep up as well as she could. They walked slowly, so that Mayu wouldn't get lost somehow, and slowly drew up towards where the village was. There was a house to the left of them, slightly larger than most of the other small houses they could see surrounding the village. It's name read Osaka, showing that it was probably one of the main family houses.

That was when Mio saw it. Someone was walking ahead of them, entering the house, and Mio's heart surged. Someone was here. Someone could help them. Mio walked a little faster, forgetting that her sister moved so slow, and only slowed down when she was nearly to the house. She was almost drawing up in front of it when she slowed down, hearing her sister struggling to reach her. Mio turned, watching as her sister limped as fast as she could to catch up, and Mio felt guilty. She decided to slow down, just for her sister, and promised to remember that from now on.

They walked together, going towards the Osaka house, when a light appeared in the house. Mayu glanced over at it, staring as the light seemed to pass by the window and then faded away. Mayu felt a slight stirring in her gut and shifted from her one bad foot to the other, glancing worriedly over to her sister. Mayu's hands came up to clutch themselves over her chest, where her heart was, and watched her sister. "I wonder if anyone's here…" Mayu said softly, glancing back towards the house for a split moment before turning back to Mio.

Mio watched the house, wondering silently about this place. It didn't give her a good feeling, being anywhere near this village. A hand came down on Mio's shoulder and Mio smiled, reaching her hand up and placing it on the hand that was on her shoulder, assuming it was Mayu. She was about to say something, thank her sister, when Mayu walked right on past. Mio's head went up and her eyes went wide, as she watched her sister walk forward. Someone whispered something, something Mio couldn't catch, and Mio jerked forward, whirling around to try and see who's hand had been on her shoulder.

No one was there. The path behind her, where she and her sibling had walked down from the hill they had been on, was bare. No one could have come, put their hand on her shoulder, and then gotten away before Mio could spot them. It was impossible. What was going on? "Mio?" Mayu asked worriedly, as she glanced back at her sister. Mio turned, following along after her sister.

"Yeah…" She said softly, walking towards the front door of the Osaka house. She opened the front door, not sure if she should have knocked first or not. She entered the house, her sister trailing along directly behind her, with her hands clenched together over her heart. They took a few more steps forward when Mio felt the hairs on the back of her head began to rise. She heard a soft sound to the right of her, a sound that Mio couldn't really identify. It sounded like a sound someone would make if they opened their mouth wide and let a sound escape. She turned quickly, just in time to see a shadowy figure of a woman disappear.

Mio stared at the place where the woman was, studying where she had been and trying to find out where the woman had gone. Mio turned away from where the woman had been, going towards the other door that would lead them deeper into the house. Mio placed her hand on the handle, glancing over towards Mayu before she even attempted to open the door. Their eyes met, something silent and unknown passing between their gazes, and then Mio opened the door. It creaked and groaned on its hinges, as it swung forward to allow them entrance.

Mio stepped inside, her hand unconsciously going back to grasp Mayu's. Mayu blinked and glanced down at Mio's hand then glanced back up, clutching it tightly as well. They entered the house together, clutching the other's hand tightly as if to draw strength from it. Mio released it as soon as the door slid shut again, taking a step forward so that she could get a better view. Her head went from side to side, as she glanced around the new room they were in.

"Isn't anybody here?" Mio said softly, more talking to herself and thinking than speaking to her twin sister. She glanced around once more before asking another question, one that was more directed at Mayu than the last one was. "Should we go inside?" Mio asked, turning back around to face her sister. That was when she realized something was wrong. Mayu was making soft sounds of freight, as her eyes darted from side to side. Mio took a step forward, starting to get really worried.

Mio knew that her sister, from time to time, got visions of things. Visions of things that normal people aren't able to see. Mio was starting to fear that Mayu was seeing something bad, something horrible. "Mayu?" Mio breathed, taking a step forward and reaching her hand out, as if to touch her and make her feel better. "Mayu! What's wrong?" That was when Mio's hand touched her sister's hand. When a vision came upon her as well.

There was a girl, just ahead of where Mio must be, and she glanced back. Her dark brown hair swirled around her face and she looked slightly fearful, her dark brown eyes worried and scared. She was wearing a plain white button up shirt and a brown skirt, an outfit that was so simple it made her look even better. It complimented her beauty, complimented the characteristics she had around her.

"Masumi? Where are you?" Called a woman's voice, sounding worried. Someone was walking through a forest, stumbling along as she tried to find someone, apparently.

The same voice spoke up again, her voice sounding warped, however. It sounded darker, angrier, more…dead. "Masumi…where did you go?" It asked, rising up and seemingly striking with the last part of the phrase.

A young voice whispered next, a different voice than the first few words. "The Lost Village…" It whispered into Mio's mind, causing her to shiver from the sound of it. From having to hear it whisper into her mind.

"Masumi, where are you? Masumi?" Called that woman again, sounding more fearful than she had before. Another vision formed, a hallway. It was a hallway, long and leading to a door at the end. There was one or two curtains hanging from the top of the ceiling, blowing in what appeared to be an almost nonexistent wind. The door slid open, slowly, and a man appeared, his back turned. From what could be seen he had gashes all over him, blood crusted on his clothing.

"I don't want to kill anymore." A voice said forcefully, sounding somewhat angry and sad, all mixed in together.

There was yet another vision, a girl lying on the ground and a man hovering over her. A scream resounded through Mio's head, high pitched and ripping through the air. The woman who had first been seen in the vision was on the ground, the man who had been seen with gashes had his hands around her neck. She was choking, her eyes rolling up to the back of her skull as her lungs failed her. One last image flashed through Mio's head, a girl standing there just laughing. She was laughing hysterically, her lips twisted into a sadistic grin.

Mio and Mayu broke away, a sound reverberating through the house. It sounded like someone had dropped a pin down a long well, or that a water had dropped from a long distance and had made a loud echoing sound. Both girls turned away from the door they had entered through, away from the exit, staring down into the house, deep into the darkness. Mayu took a few steps forward, to search through the house and find out what was going on. Mayu spoke up, clutching her hands together in front of her. "Mio…don't go too far." She said, sounding worried as her eyes darted around the room they were currently in.

Mio glanced around, her eyes landing on a notebook. She cocked her head to the side, quickly running up the stairs that lead more into the room they were in. She walked over, picking it up and glancing around. Someone must have dropped it. It seemed fairly new, compared to everything else surrounding them. "What is it, Mio?" Mayu asked, glancing over Mio's shoulder as she tried to see what it was that her sister was holding. Mio glanced up, having just finished reading the little notebook she had just found.

"It's a woman's notebook, writing down things. Like a diary or something." Mio said, ignoring the bad feeling she got in her stomach from having read the journal. It didn't sound too good, what this village might be. She didn't want to worry Mayu, so she decided to edit some of the things out. Like how this village might be the one where, once you enter, you can't leave. Ever. "It's just about a village. Some village. I'm not sure what village it might be." She said, not wanting to tell Mayu the truth, that they might be stuck here forever.

Mayu clutched her hands together over her heart, making a soft 'oh' sound. They stared at each other for a moment before walking on, since they didn't feel like staying too long in one place while in this house. Mio walked over to a door to the right of where she had found the notebook, sliding the door open. She entered the room, glancing around, to find the room that the woman had appeared when they had first entered the house. She glanced out into that room, from behind the lattice, and then spotted another notebook. She picked it up, quickly scanning it over, and Mayu read over her shoulder.

"So, whoever stumbled across here, did so in hopes of finding a man named Masumi." Mayu said softly, her eyes roving over the notebook.

Mio nodded her head. "Probably the same man from the newspaper clippings." She said and then put the notebook away with the other one, in the bag which they had found the newspaper clippings in. Mio glanced around, walking around and making sure there was nothing else that might be needed later. That as when Mayu spoke up.

"I feel like we're being watched by someone…" She murmured, glancing around fearfully. Mio glanced back over at her and then around the room, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She motioned for Mayu to follow, as the exited the room. They might as well leave. She didn't like the feeling she was getting from that room. Mio, spotting a door across from where they had just exited, walked over to it and slid the door open. She peaked in, to make sure no one was in there that might randomly jump out at her and her mirror image, before entering the room. Mayu followed along behind her, glancing around worriedly.

That was when Mio noticed the notebook by a blanket/rug that had a human sized lump underneath it. She took a few steps forward, going around the fishing net and going towards the notebook. Mayu was directly behind her when she heard Mayu's gasp. Mio whirled around, noticing a ghostly form of a woman walking towards the door, away from them. "Why…?" The woman whispered, her voice sounding crackly and dead. Mayu walked towards her twin and clutched her arm tightly, her eyes wide in her face. Mio was facing the woman and watched as she exited the room. She breathed lighter, once she realized that the woman was gone. The coldness, that she hadn't noticed had arrived when the woman had appeared, left the room.

Mio turned and quickly grabbed the notebook, shoving it into her bag and deciding to read it later. She turned and exited the room, quickly, her hand going back to clutch Mayu's own and make sure she was still following. They turned and walked up the stairs Mio had noticed earlier, walking strait down the little bridge and into the hallway. There was only one door and Mio walked strait by it, noticing that it was locked and since they didn't have the key, she knew they couldn't go into there. Mio was about to turn another corner and head towards the stairs that would lead deeper into the house when she heard her sister calling her back.

Mio turned and walked back to her sister, blinking and cocking her head to the side. She was about to ask her sister what was wrong when Mayu spoke up, still staring worriedly at the door they had just passed. "Someone's…near…" Mayu said, clutching her hands over her heart and staring with huge eyes at the door. Mio turned, reaching her hand out and grasping the doorknob. Mio gasped, jerking her hand back and staring at the door. The door handle was so…cold. Mio reached out again, forcing herself to put up with the prickly cold sensation against her skin. She tried to open the door, struggling with it and attempting to pry it open. It still didn't work. Mio released the door, taking a step back and just staring at the door.

She could hear something, from the other side of the door, and Mio scrunched up her face as she tried to hear more. It sounded like shaky breathing and harsh crying. Someone might just be in there. Mio thought for a moment, wondering if someone could be on the other side of the door, before she turned away. "Come on, Mayu." She said, reaching out and grasping her sister's hand. They walked towards the other staircase that would take them down, taking the steps two at a time for Mio while Mayu struggled to even go down them at all. They reached the ground floor and Mio glanced around.

She walked forward, glancing around again. She reached a four way intersection and glanced around. The one way, the way to the left, took her back to the front door. Strait ahead was one door and to her right was another hallway which lead away from where she could see. She decided to go forward first and then take the hallway afterwards. Mio told her sister to wait there for a moment and walked forward, trying the door. It was locked. She sighed and turned back around, shaking her head towards Mayu to tell her the door was locked. Mio walked back over to her twin, turning and stepping into the hallway.

That same woman appeared in front of them, walking slowly out of sight. Mio tensed as Mayu took in a deep breath of fear. "I kept searching for you…" The woman said, deadly soft, as she walked out of sight. Mio and Mayu waited a few moments, to see if she would come back, but when she didn't they started forward again. Mio walked a little ahead, whipping around the corner and tensing herself for seeing the woman. She wasn't there. There were a few curtain like things hanging from the ceiling and one door at the very end of the hall. Mio walked forward, reaching backwards and clasping her hand with Mayu's again for what seemed like the hundredth time that night.

Both of them walked down to that door, Mio slowly opening it and entering the room. It was a deck, things strewn all around as if there had been a harsh battle in there. Mio's eyes glanced around, taking in everything, before she closed the door behind Mayu when she had entered. Mayu glanced around as well, shivering slightly from the coolness that was in the room. "It's…a bit…cold." Mayu whispered, her eyes going from one side to the other fearfully, as if she was a rabbit stuck in a corner, afraid of something coming towards her to attack her.

Mio walked forward, noticing a notebook on the floor. She quickly bent and scooped it up, taking out the other notebook she had found. She read them quickly, her eyes scanning over them. They pretty much told a small part of the story about a woman named Miyako, who had come here to find her lost boyfriend. Mio stood back up, turning and noticing that her sister still looked fearful. "Come on, Mayu." Mio said softly, reaching out and taking her hand. They exited the room, heading back down towards where that intersection had been. As soon as they turned the corner that ghostly woman appeared again, walking towards where the locked door was. She walked slowly, her head slightly down as her dark brownish black hair covered her face from view.

"Why…?" She asked slowly, almost as if she was in pain. Mio and Mayu froze in fear, watching as she disappeared out of sight. Mio started walking forward, nearly dragging her twin along with her. They reached the intersection, glancing around and trying to see where the woman had gone. She was no where in sight. Mio was about to walk towards the front door when she heard Mayu from where the locked door was. "Mio." She called and Mio turned, blinking. How did her sister get over to that door so quickly, without she even noticing that Mayu was gone at all? Mio walked forward then ran up to her sister, reaching her hand out and placing it on her shoulder.

"Mayu? What's wrong?" Mio asked and Mayu clutched her hands together over her heart, staring at the locked door. The locked door which was now slightly ajar. Mio glanced away from the door, back to her sister again.

"There was someone here." Mayu said, glancing over towards Mio with a fearful look on her face. Mio reached out, her hands grasping the door handle and slowly sliding the door open. They both entered the room, having Mio cast her eyes about. "Something's…strange about this place…" Mayu said, as soon as she had entered the room. Mio's eyes landed on one of the only tables in the room and her eyes widened in relief. She ran forward, going around the table to the side with the flashlight on it. She picked it up, quickly checking it over. She switched it on and beamed, as soon as she saw that it worked. Luckily it still worked, at least.

She noticed a book about a camera, her eyes quickly reading it before setting it into her bag. She glanced around, her eyes searching, and then she found it. She found what she had been hoping she would find. A camera. She wondered what it was and reached forward, ready to pick it up. Right when her hand touched the camera, Mayu spoke up. "That's-!!" Mayu began, rushing forward to grab Mio and drag her back, away from the camera. It's to late, however, and Mio had all ready grasped it.

Mio felt like she was seeing something she shouldn't be seeing, a vision of sorts. She had had them before, not very often or as often as Mayu even, but she had had them before. She saw an old-ish looking man, grasping a camera. "So this is the camera Obscura." He murmured, the camera being clenched in his hands. "Takes pictures of impossible things."

An altar of sorts was now in front of him, with ropes tied all around it and talismans on it as well. The man raised the camera, slowly pointing it at the alter and preparing himself as if he was going to take a picture. The man was just about to take a picture when ghostly arms shot out, reaching for him. A horrible howling sort of sound started up and he gasped, taking a picture and the flash brightening up the place. He put the camera away from his eye just as he fell over backwards, the camera flying from his hands as soon as his body met the ground. He was staring wide eyed, as if stunned, before he spoke again. "What was that?!" He gasped, glancing around almost wildly. "I can't believe…so it's true…This thing's too dangerous…" His words faded off, as Mio jerked her hand back away from the camera.

"The camera Obscura." Mayu spoke up, as if finishing what she had been saying before. She watched as Mio stared at the camera but stopped when she heard something. Footsteps approaching the door of the room they were in. She felt cold start to roll into the room and she clutched her hands in fear, glancing towards the door. "Mio…" She said and gasped when the footsteps began to be louder, more clear to their ears. "What's that?" She asked, turning towards the doors. Mio got to her feet, taking a step forward and putting her sister slightly behind her, as if to protect her from whoever it was that was approaching.

"Is someone here?" Mayu whispered to her twin, looking at the door fearfully. Mio listened as the footsteps got even louder, as her hand clutched Mayu's in her own. They were both frightened, as Mayu made soft sounds of fear. "Mio…" Mayu said fearfully, almost sounding like she was whining. The footsteps had stopped right outside the door but Mio could hear her heart beating wildly in her chest, a loud sound for the background music. Mio took a step forward, going towards the door.

Mio reached out, slowly grasping the handle and then pulling it open slightly. That was when she saw it. A dead looking eye, staring strait at Mio. Mio gasped and jerked backwards, loosing her balance as she fell over. She made sure she used her momentum to shut the door, falling backwards and tumbling into Mayu. Mayu made sure to keep her sister up right, as they both knew something bad was out there in the hallway. "Something's…here." Mayu said fearfully, staring at the door with wide eyes.

Mio didn't know why she did what she did next. She just…felt like it was the right thing to do, at the time. She raised the camera, pointing it at the door where she knew that woman was. Her eyes stared through the camera, watching as the woman's body started to take shape through the doorway. She was staring blankly through the door at the two sisters, not even moving. Mio's finger pressed down, snapping the picture. "…Why…?" The ghost seemed to whisper angrily, as she faded out of sight.

Mio brought the camera down away from her eyes, staring at where the ghost had been outside in the hallway. She couldn't sense the presence anymore and she shivered in fright, remembering what she had seen and heard before getting rid of it. "It's gone." She whispered to her twin, to make sure Mayu knew that no one was there anymore.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Mayu said as she appeared to the right of Mio. Mio glanced over at her and, slowly, nodded her head in agreement.

"Uh-hm." She said, agreeing with her entire heart. She didn't like staying in this place. They needed to get out. Now. Mio glanced down, noticing that she still had the flashlight in her hand and it was still working. Mio quickly used the necklace thing that was attached to the camera to wear it around her neck, rushing towards the door and opening it. She glanced out into the hallway, noticing that nothing and no one was there. She motioned for Mayu to follow, as they ran strait towards where they knew the front door was.

Mio couldn't stop herself in time, as she ran into the door. Her hands reached down, grasping the door handle as she tried to open it. Something was holding it shut. She couldn't open it. They were trapped in this house! She tried again and again, jerking and trying to use her body weight to force the door open. Still…it wouldn't budge. She released it and took a step back, knowing they couldn't get out that way. She heard her sister gasp from behind her, causing Mio to whirl around and rush forward to her sister.

That ghost woman was walking towards the door with the net in it, going towards it. Mio jerked the camera up from her neck, quickly snapping a picture, before allowing the camera to slid from her fingers. The ghost had disappeared through the door, as soon as she had snapped the picture. Mio noticed something on the camera, one that glowed blue. She blinked and turned, noticing that the blue seemed to disappear when she turned away from where that woman had been. She turned back, realizing that it glowed because it sensed ghosts. She got scared, glancing in the direction where the camera seemed to be sensing the ghost from.

She took a few steps forward, going to the door where the woman had disappeared through. She tried to open the door but it was stuck. She sighed, taking a step backward, and then got an epiphany. She took the camera up and took a snap of the door, tons of women faces appearing. She gasped and took a shaky step back but it was too late. She watched as the faces disappeared for a moment, showing a different spot. A brazier. Wait. They had seen one at that deck in the back of the house. She put the picture in her bag, glancing over towards her sister.

"Do you think you know what we need to do?" She whispered and Mayu nodded, giving confirmation. They slowly walked back towards the deck, running pretty much after they realized they should move faster. The faster they moved, the faster they got out of this house. Mio opened the door, entering with Mayu trailing along directly behind her. "There's someone here…" Mayu whispered but Mio was all ready in the room, glancing around and feeling the cold that surrounded them like a thick blanket that gave no warmth. They glanced around, wondering what to do now. Mio walked forward, holding the camera in her hands. She noticed the blue thing was going off around the brazier so…she snapped a picture of it.

A picture of a wounded man appeared and she stared at it for a moment, before getting a weird sensation that crawled down her back. Mio gasped, glancing up and into the eyes of a ghost. A male ghost, who was the man in the photo. He was standing in front of the twins, staring at them. He whispered something, something that sounded like "Don't come near me". Mio quickly snapped a picture of him too, right before he disappeared from view. She was breathing hard, as she stared at the place where the male had once been. She chanced a glance over her shoulder, to make sure there wasn't another one coming, but no one except Mayu was there.

Mayu's hands were clasped tightly together, in front of her and over her chest, as she stared nervously around the room. That meant she had definitely seen that male as well. Mio lowered the camera and allowed it to hang around her neck, as she walked back over to her twin. She handed her the picture she had gotten, glancing around once more. "You got this picture from snapping a picture of that brazier?" Mayu asked, sounding somewhat confused. She looked at the picture before shuddering, apparently not liking to see the picture of the poor diced up man. She handed it back to her twin, looking horrified from what she had seen that had happened to him. It was horrible, what had obviously happened to the poor man.

"Mmmhmm." Mio answered her sister, slipping the picture into their newly acquired bag. She turned back towards the door, exiting the room and heading back towards the front rooms. She could hear her twin limping along behind her, her panting gasps as she tried to keep up as fast as she could. Mio stopped when she reached the opening that showed the whole front room, with the door that would have lead them to where the outside door lie. Mio turned away from it, turning towards the door where she had felt something before. Nothing was there. Not anymore, at least. She walked forward slowly, raising her camera as if to defend herself in case anything attacked her or suddenly appeared from the doorway.

Mio stopped walking as soon as she reached the door and released the camera, allowing the string around her neck to keep the camera near her. Her hand reached out, enclosing on the door's knob and slowly sliding it open. They both entered the room, together, with their hands clasped tightly together, holding hands. Mio walked faster than Mayu, tugging her after her as she glanced around the room. Nothing was different, nothing had changed. Mio sighed, turning back around and heading to leave the room. That was when the door to a cabinet fell down to the floor.

Mayu turned, looking at it, and then breathed out one phrase for her twin to hear. "Mio, look." Mayu's finger came up, pointing at the key that was in the cabinet. Mio walked over, her sister tottering along unsteadily behind her, and reached out. Her hand brushed away some dust from the key, before securely wrapping around it and pulling it out of the dusty surface it had previously been laying on. That was when she heard a weird noise, like walking steps from far, far away. She whirled around, right as a scratchy and dead sounding voice spoke up.

"Why…? I missed you…" Said the woman, as she walked out the door. Mio quickly snapped a picture with her, obviously, never ending supply of 7 film. She lowered the camera, staring at the door, before shivering. She was really starting to hate ghosts, dead people, and this house most of all. Possibly even this village. Maybe it was only this house that was like this. Maybe, if they had gone to another house, someone would have told them that this house was haunted and that was why no one was in the realm of its 'sanctuary'.

Mio and Mayu exited the room, glancing around. With the key held firmly in Mio's grasp, she knew what to do before her brain even could catch up with her instinct. She turned towards the staircase closest to her, taking a few steps towards it. That was when the same ghost appeared, walking up the steps slowly, with her head bent low so that her dark brown hair covered her light blue face. She had said something, right when she had appeared and started to walk, but Mio hadn't caught it fast enough. Mio, slowly, hesitantly, followed after the woman, going up the stairs two at a time.

Mayu struggled to keep up with her twin, feeling a pang in her heart. She should have been better at this, been able to keep up. If she hadn't been so foolish when she was younger, so burdensome to Mio, then she wouldn't have gotten her leg injured. She climbed the steps slowly, her pants coming in ragged puffs from the pain in her leg. She finally reached the top, to see that Mio had turned around to watch her and wait silently. She smiled, shakily, at Mio and they both turned, heading towards the door that had been locked. The door that Mayu had felt a presence behind.

A woman appeared in front of the door, just silently watching it and seemingly frozen there. "Where is he…?" The woman asked, her voice soft and filled with what sounded like pain. Of course, the twin's could have been reading her voice wrong. They weren't too sure what she was feeling, after all. Mio walked forward, as soon as the woman had disappeared, and inserted the key into the lock. She twisted it, hearing the dull resounding click that told them the door was unlocked. Mio glanced, fleetingly, at her twin before opening the door and entering, closing the door after them both when Mayu was in as well.

Mio glanced around, noticing there were two ways to go. One way, the left way, lead to what looked like a servant's room of sorts. The other way showed that there was another door, leading to another part of the set of rooms. Mio walked towards there, right when a ghost appeared again. "The Lost Village…" It whispered, the sound almost haunting in its way of speaking. A shiver worked its way up Mio's spine, as she shook it off and shook her head along with it. She shouldn't let it get under her skin, she had to keep her head.

She continued walking forward, only stopping to pick up the notebook before exiting this room as well. She headed towards the other room, also picking up the other notebook. She just stopped for a moment each time, reading them over, before continuing. She didn't need to know anything at the moment, not with them right now. She had this sense that she needed to get into this last room, the one that dead ended. She felt a cold burst of air from behind her and she whirled around, noticing the woman just exiting the room. The door slammed closed with her, locking the twins in and preventing their escape. Something was going to happen and they better be prepared for it, since it looked like there was no way out.

Mio bent down, picking up the what appeared to be the last notebook. She flipped it open, beginning to read, as Mayu glanced fearfully around the room. She was a little ways away from her sister, clasping her hands together in front of her as she nervously checked the room out with her dark brown eyes. "She also became trapped here." Mio said softly, as her eyes roved the page and read everything she could find. She drank everything in, trying to understand everything and shed light onto their own situation. Maybe this woman would have written something helpful down, something that could help the twins. Maybe…

"She came into this house looking for her boyfriend." Mio said, again whispering to her twin as she read. Her eyes darted back and forth, reading the words quickly in hopes of finding a way out of this place. "And then…where did she go?" Her voice spiked on the last part, sounding confused. Where could the girl have gone? She could still be wandering the village, perhaps. Maybe that was what she was doing. Yeah, maybe that was it.

Mayu was barely paying attention anymore. She took a few more steps around, glancing from side to side as she took everything in. "This place…must be…" She said slowly, as her eyes took everything in one last time before she turned slightly, as if to look at her sister once more. She whirled her head around, sensing something, and saw a woman, actually that same woman who had kept appearing repeatedly all over the house, hovering over her sister's shoulder. Mayu gasped, her eyes widening as she looked upon the dead woman.

"Why?" The woman whispered, her voice deadly in its softness.

"Mio!" Mayu said, trying to warn her sister, trying to save her from the woman.

"Mayu?" Mio asks, turning to look at her twin. She blinked, confused as to what was the matter, and then blinked once more.

"Why…?" The voice was right by Mio's ear, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Slowly, so slowly, she turned her head and her brown eyes met another pair of brown, one that was almost black because of the death that were seeped into them. Mio gasped and rocketed backwards, skittering over the floor backwards and doing a crabwalk away from the woman. The woman straitened, as she stared down the two girls with a deadly look on her face, in her eyes.

Mio scrambled back to her feet, standing protectively in front of her sister. Mayu was bent over forwards, clasping her hands over her head and shivering lightly. She was scared, so scared. What was going to happen now? Mio turned her head away, to focus on what she knew would be a fight for their lives. Their only way out was blocked off, leaving Mio with the only choice of fighting the ghost with the Camera Obscura.

Mio raised said camera, placing the piece to her eye so she could take aim. The ghost slowly came towards her, its head bent down so that it was staring darkly at her from the top of its eyes. That was when, when she was almost at arm's length from the living girl, she lunged. Mio gasped, pressing the flash button and taking a picture. The woman fell backwards but managed to keep her feet under her, fading from sight. Mio could still hear her ragged, almost soft whispering. She whispered the word 'why' a lot, and also the word 'Masumi' once or twice.

That was when something, it was the same little thing that had once glowed blue, flashed orange. Mio could barely make out the ghost, as she stepped out of the wall. That was when, when the circle that showed her range and everything, flashed red, Mio took the chance. The ghost screamed, in rage and pain, as she fell backwards again. This time she didn't disappear, she rushed towards Mio. Mio smashed the shutter button, starting to gasp in panic. The film was reloading, it was still reloading!

The ghost's hands came around Mio's neck, causing her to release her camera and for it to fall against her chest. Mio gasped, her hands coming up and then going right through the ghosts own hands. The coldness was seeping into her, filling her body and making her lungs ache. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't, she couldn't, she couldn't…

That was when her fingers curled around the camera again and brought it up, flashing it in the ghost's face. The ghost wailed, falling to the ground. "Even though we finally meet…" The woman whispered, her voice sounding sad. "Why…?" Then she was gone. That was when the ground fell up to meet Mio, as she fainted.

There was a vision, while Mio slept, a vision of a girl laughing hysterically. She was laughing, laughing, so much laughing was coming from her. Her eyes were closed as she laughed in manical glee, as her front was drenched in blood.

Another vision fluttered closer, taking Mio to it instead. Her twin was walking, her back to her sister, as she tottered and struggled along. She was trying to keep up with a red butterfly, that was flying in front of her. Her hand was reaching out, trying to grasp it, as she jogged along. "Crimson…butterfly…" She whispered, her voice almost not even her own. She sounded far away, as if she was in a vision or something.

Mio's eyes slowly fluttered open, as she came back to the world of the living. She pushed her aching body into a sitting position, glancing around her. She was in the room where she had battled that woman, who she had realized must have been Miyako Sudo, writer of those notebooks she had been reading since entering this house. Mio's head hurt, her body ached, and she felt like her thumb (the one who always hit the shutter button) was going to fall off from so much use. But there was one thing she did notice, through her haze of pain.

Mayu…was gone…

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End Chapter Two: House of Osaka

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	3. Chapter Three

**Authoress:** KarenaWilliams

**Disclaimer:** Karena owns absolutely nothing. She does not own Fatal Frame/Project Zero, she does not own Crimson Butterfly, and she does not own the characters in the game. She does, however, own a copy of the game. But that, alas, is all. I do, also, however, own any dialogue I might throw in, just to make some things make sense and to add some flavor. So…that's pretty much it.

**Beta:** Crimson Kaoru

Author's Note: Okay, everyone. By this point in time, you might notice I added a new thing to my little "list" of items for the story. Beta was added cause…well Crimson Kaoru (currently the only one reading and REVIEWING!…I suppose) volunteered, since I'm betaing hers. XD Anyways, that's pretty much it. I don't think I have any more notes. I did take your advice though, Kiwi :D Yay

Oh and, just to forewarn you all, this chapter is shorter than usual. Very sorry but…I'm afraid it must be done. Please enjoy.

**Dark Moon **

Chapter Three: The Boy Behind the Bars

The first thing she realized, after comprehending her twin was gone, was that the ground was cold. And hard, her mind whispered as she put her hands beneath her and pushed herself to her feet. And dirty, another part of her intellect said, sounding disgusted. Mio, also looking revoltedby this point, dusted her hands off on her skirt and then chanced a look around. There were no ghosts to be seen, from what Mio's dark brown eyes could tell. Nothing was there to attack her and attempt to steal her life from between their cold, dead fingers.

"Good," she murmured to herself, as she bent and picked up the camera Obscura. She checked it over, noticing the old device hadn't even cracked or been broken from falling to the ground. She wondered, since it was so old and all, if it was durable because of its age. Did aging make things more durable or more prone to breakage?

She shook her head, deciding that she didn't want to keep thinking on this subject. Her mind had begun towhisper she would never get to find out, since she wouldn't get out of this place alive and grow old to test that theory. She heard a creaking, from somewhere out of this room, and her body lurched around in the direction. It was approaching the door to this room!

Mio scrambled out of the room, going through the other rooms and into the small hall that ledher out of this horrid place, out of this place where Miyako had spent her undead time. She ran down that hallway, scuttledand nearly tripping more times than she could count. That was when something really loud came forth, from a place to her left. Mio's hands flew to her ears and she made a soft gasping sound.

"What is that?!" Whirling, so that she could find what it was that was making the sound, her eyes landed on an old looking radio. She blinked a few times, before glancing towards the door. She could either go out and leave this contraption or… she could take a moment and grab it. It might hold something worth seeing.

Mio sighed and walked towards it, stooping down low so that she was on the level of the small desk the radio was placed upon. Her pale hands scooped it upand lightly dust the device off. "It's really old," were the first words from her, making her cock her head to the side so that she could glance underneath it. "And worn."

The radio made a buzzing sound, static bursting forth and almost directly into Mio's ear. "Oh," she cried out, releasing said appliance and shooting away from the table. Her hands came up to cradle her ears, as the radio made more ear splitting shrieks. She didn't have time for this! She scooped down again, grabbing the radio and shoving it into her bag. She zipped said bag shut, glaring down at it as if it had done something to offend her. There were only soft sounds coming from the bag, since it had muffled the loud, blaring shrieks of rage the radio had been making at her.

"I'll look you over later," she told it, her eyes spotting the manual for it. She smiled and picked it up, noticing how small it was. Not wanting to open her bag again, the manual was placed into the pocket of Mio's skirt, as she got to her feet. Before she could actually leave, however, she tripped over something small. "What in the world…?"

She drifted off, her eyes spotting a soft purple stone. Not really having time for this, Mio picked it up and also put it into her pocket, shoving herself to her feet. She hurried forward, out of the rooms that had haunted her for the past only goodness knows how long. She heard something from downstairs so, knowing that it might actually be her twin, Mio scrambled to her right, towards the stairs that would lead her down into the main room with the door, the door that could lead her out of this house.

Mayu was down there, limping towards the door. Her hands came out, settling over the door knob and twisting. Mio's eyes widened. Was Mayu going to leave her here, all on her own? Mio had never left Mayu alone, not after she had gotten injured, but it seemed Mayu had no qualms with leaving Mio behind. Mio threw herself at the banister, clutching it and leaning over. Her eyes were wide, as her mouth opened and she called out for her sister. "Mayu," she called out, frantically trying to get her sister to come back to her.

Mayu's head turned, slightly, and her eyes glanced upwards, towards her twin. "I'm sorry," she said softly and turned her head away, her hair hiding the rest of her face from her twin sister. "I have to go."

And, with that being said, Mayu left.

"It's…calling me," Mayu whispered, as her eyes went around dully. She turned to her left, away from the path she and Mio had traversed earlier, and started off towards the calling. It wasn't a normal calling, either, that she felt sometimes when she knew Mio was calling her. It alsodidn't feel like some of those tugging feelings she'd get whenever a vision was near. No, this was completely and wholly different from those things and Mayu wasn't sure what it was exactly.

"The twins that will become the sacrifice have returned!" announced a voice from somewhere around Mayu, causing the girl to blink. Mayu took a shaky step forward, before turning and heading down the pathway that was located to her right. Her gait was unsteady and not the least bit graceful but it got her moving towards where she wanted, nay, needed, to go. She wavered for a moment, as more voices piped up, but her mind attempted to block them out.

"Come," said a stronger voice, drowning out the others. It was decidedly female and had quite a bit of power behind it. Mayu came to a stop, for a moment, and stared ahead of her, from where she sensed the voice had come. There was a turning point, up ahead, with a red lantern to the side. A light was on, illuminating a large double doorway that appeared old and weathered. She could feel the tug off to the side of that, a little bit before, where another path lurked in the shadows.

"Come to me," the woman's voice said again, trailing off at the end so that it appeared to be just a whisper of temptation.

Mayu took it, tottering forward again. The closer she drew to where the woman must lie in wait, the stronger her gait became.She got to the intersection, turning her entire body (slowly, so slowly) towards the right, where she saw red butterflies erupt.

The butterflies took Mayu by surprise, even though she had seen them a few times as she walked towards here. Her hands came up, grasping and struggling to hold one. A dazed smile made it way to her lips as she nearly falls forward with one outlandish jump for the elusive creatures.

There was a woman, a woman standing before Mayu, who turned to stare at her. She had hair styled much the same as Mayu, except it fell in her face and over her eyes slightly. Her hair was dark, a dark brown that made Mayu think of her sister Mio.

Mio…

The thought quickly vanished, however, as soon as the girl smiled. She held her arms out, welcoming Mayu, wanting Mayu for what seems like the first time to the young girl. Yes, Mio loved her, but she honestly didn't WANT her, not when Mayu was damaged goods. Mayu stopped trying to grasp the butterflies, instead walking forward and towards the woman.

She didn't notice the white kimono or the ethereal glowing around this woman. She didn't notice that the once pristine white kimono was now drenched in blood down the front, or that the woman had a weird, deadly glint in her eyes. When her arms wrapped around Mayu, when Mayu finally felt welcomed for the first time in a long time, Mayu didn't notice the obvious signs that something was wrong. She didn't notice and she didn't look back when she heard her sister calling for her, somewhere behind her, back towards the Osaka house…

Mio stood at the top of the stairs, staring down into the place where Mayu had once been. "Mayu," she whispered softly, a true sense of loss taking over her. A voice in the back of her head, an evil voice that Mio hated hearing from, whispered that maybe this was good. Without her, Mio would not be held back. She would be able to do whatever it is that was needed of her without having to slow down, without having to worry about her crippled twin sister.

Mio whirled, hurrying down the little hallway and towards the stairs. Stumbling down them, sudden and unexplained vertigo nearly overwhelmed her, intensified by her rushing manner and the nerves that were left over from her fight with Miyako. She tripped and fell, tumbling down the stairs, head over heels. Luckily for her she didn't end up hurting anything, at least not anything more than a few bruises here and there. Mio threw herself to her feet, rushing forward and nearly toppling over again.

Right as her hand curled over the doorknob, preparing herself to exit this horrid house, there was a sudden chill in the air.

Now, some might be thinkingrun but Mio wasn't sure what this meant. Sure, she remembered feeling this whenever Miyako had appeared but it still had not ingrained itself into her mind that this might be signaling a ghost appearance. Mio felt the hairs on the back of her neck pricking, goosebumps errupting on her skin. She shivered in fright and in confusion, wondering what this could mean. She whirled around as soon as a sudden gust of chilling air blasted into her back, her eyes widening when they landed on the thing coming towards her.

The man was aged, shriveled and had torn clothes hanging off of his gaunt frame. He was moaning, with another man stumbling up towards her from behind the first. Mio's gasp echoed around the room, as her hands fumbled for the camera. The man was upon her soon after she seized it, and she felt the pain overwhelmed her entire body. It seared through her, making her mouth open but no sound could escape through this unbearable pain.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, as she twitched and had seizure-like trauma pummel her quaking body. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the ghost seemed to fall forward, through her, and then away from her shaking body. Mio screamed, a shrill sound that vibrated around her and throughout the house, stumbling around the other ghost and back towards the stairs. She was about halfway up when she heard the moans again, turning to see that the ghosts were following her still.

She pulled the camera up, placing it in front of her eyes and quickly snapping a picture. The two semi-transparent (what she could only assume were) males reared back, wailing loudly at the top of their dead and frozen lungs. Mio raced away from them, going through the house and to the other set of stairs. She took those three at a time, nearly tripping and falling more than once, racing back towards the doors. She could see the ghosts were on the top of the staircase, having been trying to follow her, but as soon as they saw she was now below them, they turned, making to go after her.

She shriekedagain, pulling the door open and racing out into the hall that lead to the outside world. She nearly tripped, as her feet scuffed into something small but large enough to make her fall over. Her hand went out, grabbing said thing as she got back to her feet and raced out of the house. Whatever those things were, her mind thought as she slammed the door of the Osaka house closed behind her, she didn't want to stay and find out.

Mio took great, gasping breathsas she tried to calm her racing heart. Her eyes glanced around, as she tried to see Mayu, but suddenly she yelped. That darn radio had zapped her, even though the bag she had placed it in. The static buzzed through her for several prolonged moments before fading, making her glance down at said bag. She glared at it, screwing her face up into a look of distaste. That was when the thing in her arm suddenly grew warm, making her squeak and drop it onto the ground.

She peeked down at it as it lay there on the ground.She bent down, using her hands to smooth her skirt underneath her as well. Her hand came out again, poking the necklace, when suddenly she realized what it was. Mayu's charm! Her hand shot out, grabbing the thing and lifting it up so that she could stare at it on her own eye level. "What in the world…?" she murmured, staring at it as she softly rubbed a finger over the worn pinkish red surface.

That was when a shock passed through, into her body, from the radio, making her yelp again. She dropped the pendant but, unfortunately, it was all ready too late. Her body tingled, as if she was getting a vision, but she wasn't. She just heard static in her ear, as she bent there in the side of the road, her eyes wide and unseeing, as she stared across the street.

"_Crimson…Butterfly…It's calling me…Calling me deep into the village…No…it's not us…" _Mayu's voice wafted into her mind as Mio remained stooping beside the road.She took in a deep breath, as soon as she knew it was over, as soon as her body was released from this spell. Her hands scrambled to get the radio out of its little holder, as she placed it onto the ground and just…stared at it.

It looked old and, honestly, not harmful. It just goes to show that appearances can be deceiving, Mio told herself as she sighed. The radio hadn't _hurt_her, per se, but it had given her quite a shock, in more ways than one. She grabbed the radio's manual, flipping through it, before her mind whispered she shouldn't be crouching by the side of the road, in a cursed village, like an idiot. She shoved the radio and everything else into her bag, getting to her feet and sliding the bag onto her shoulder. She turned towards her left, towards the paths that would lead her deeper into the village, and began walking.

Mio walked slowly, her eyes casting themselves around as she tried to see the places hidden in the places hidden in the shadows surrounded her.She looked forwards again, still walking along, her hands coming out in front of her sometimes. She couldn't see, during a moment of complete darkness, and had to stumble along, afraid she was going to bump into someone, a ghost or something, that she probably wouldn't want to bump into.

She reached an intersection, glancing around, and that was when she spotted Mayu. She was walking out of sight, towards the right, around a building. Mio gasped, rushing down the dark alleywayas she tried to catch up with her sister. She stumbled, her body going forward from the momentum she had built up. She gasped softly, as she bounced on one foot to keep herself from tumbling into an undignified heap.

She threw herself around a corner, going down stairs as she tried to catch up to her sister. She turned another corner, spotting Mayu up ahead. "Mayu!" she cried out, hurrying all the faster. Even with Mayu limping, even with Mio running full speed, Mio still didn't catch her in time before the large doors swung shut. Mio ran into the doora moment after it was closed and locked, and began to pound on said door.

"No, let me in, please let me in!!" she cried, backing up and glancing towards the heavens. She noticed how large the doors were, how rusted and worn with time they had become over the years. She was about to go back to pounding on the doors, in hopes of getting Mayu to let her in, when she heard murmuring behind her. Mio, suddenly filled with horror, turned slowly to see what it was that had appeared behind her.

A soundless scream had her gurgling in the back of her throat, as her eyes widened. Ghosts, three of them to be exact, were slowly walking towards her. One had a sickle, deadly looking and rusted as if it had been under water for far too long before being taken back into the open air. Another had a pole in its handas it slowly drudged towards her, its mouth hanging open limply. The last one was smaller than the other two, almost appearing to be a runt in size, and had a torch in its hand as it tottered towards her. Mio took a step back, her back scraping against the old door behind her. "Oh no. Oh please no, not again," she whispered to herself as she glanced around for a way out of this. There was no way. She'd have to go charging through them in order to get away, and she didn't feel like going anywhere near them. She took in a rattling breath, trying to calm her nerves, but thus far it was doing nothing to attain what it had tried to do for her.

The ghosts came closer still, even though Mio was wishing with all her might that they would either disappear or that time would stand still until she could get away. Mio took a step to her left, hoping that they would keep walking straight, but they slowly took a step over, so that they were again directly in front of her. Mio tried to take another step backwards, to get away from the ghosts, but again the door stopped her in her tracks.

Mio, fearful that she might die, raised the camera to her eyes. She tried to tell herself to wait until the right time came but, as the ghosts staggered closer, Mio couldn't help herself anymore. She smashed her finger repeatedly on the shutter button, the flash bursting brightly into the ghosts' faces. They roared and clutched their faces, stumbling backwards and away from Mio. Mio turned, racing off and away from the creatures who had been about to attack her.

She didn't even bother stoppingwhen she heard the ghosts yelling after her. She didn't dare glance back. She continued to run, turning around a corner just in time for three crimson butterflies to flutter past her face. Their wings scraped against her pale skin, tickling herand making her blink in confusion. She took one step back, just in time to see the butterflies disappear completely. Mio, not being one to question a lead, followed after them.

She picked her way down the long path that would lead her to Osaka house. She noticed the butterflies were going past that, however, and decided to keep following them. She sensed nothing bad from them, only a helping aura that told her they wanted her to avoid some undesirable fate. She wondered if they understood the situation. Their understanding was almost human…

The butterflies eventually fluttered around a storehouse, towards a small door that would lead her to the back. She bent low, pushing open the door and then walking in. It creaked closed behind her, making her glance towards it. She turned her bright brown eyes back towards the front, straightening and walking forward. Right when she turned a corner something was heard from a window she could barely see from her position.

"Yae?" asked a soft, male sounding voice. Right as Mio appeared in his line of vision, he appeared in hers. His hair was tousled slightly, a bright white color that reminded Mio of innocence, of snow. She took a step forward, to get closer, and noticed the blue-grey of his eyes, how his lips were firmly pressed together in a frown that said he wasn't all that happy. From what Mio could tell he had a thin frame, with his shoulders filled out into the manly way that happened when a one hits puberty when you're a male. He was wearing a white kimono, from what Mio could see, and he was tall, taller than her for sure. "What're you still doing here?" he asked, hands grasping the cool iron bars that had rusted through by now.

"Who are you?" Mio whispered, as she took yet another step forward, so that she was standing directly in front of him. Her head was tilted backwards, so that her brown eyes could meet his own blue-grey ones. He frowned even harder at that, but seemed to ignore it.

"The ritual will begin soon…" he said, sounding worried. Mio felt a shiver race down her spine. Hadn't those other ghosts been speaking about a ritual? Mio wasn't sure but she knew she didn't like the sound of that word. It sounded harsh, cold, almost cruel to a high degree. "If that happens…"

Mio, not wanting to hear what would happen, took another step forward, in hopes that she would deter him from saying anything along those lines. She would just have to get Mayu and get out of here, before this ritual began. She didn't want to be involved in anything that sounded dangerous, blood thirsty.

His eyes, an almost steel grey color, stared down at her, with their depths telling her that he was very worried for her by this point. She wondered why. She didn't know him nor had she ever seen him before. Why would he be worried about her, some girl he had never seen before? She didn't know but she knew there was a story behind it.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the boy launched into a long tangent, going on and on, explaining things and yet…not. "You are back… Yae, you and Sae have got to get out of here! She is at the Ceremony Master's house. She is going to do it! Go get her! There is still time to catch up with her. The keys to the gate are enshrined in Twin Deities Statues. Look for statues like that somewhere in the village. Yae, the ritual is about to start… Hurry! Two keyholes. The gate to Whisper Bridge… When the confinement starts, that gate gets locked. Yae, if we escape, I'm sure we can avoid the fate of the Twin Shrine Maidens. Don't give up," he whispered to her, nodding his head in encouragement. "Hurry up and get Sae out of here! Or else you will lose someone you love… like I did…"

Mio, not sure what else to do, nodded her head. He wasn't done, however, but instead said just a few more things. "I want you to live the life my brother and I could not…" Mio wondered what he meant by that but, now that she knew what to do, knew she had to start right away. Seeing that the boy wasn't about to say anything else to her, at least, not from what Mio could tell, she turned away and started back towards the door she had to use to leave.

"If you cannot find a way to leave the village…come and find me. I may be able to help," he murmured, as soon as Mio reached the part right before the door. Mio stopped, glancing over her shoulder and back at him. His head was bowed, his hair hanging in front of his eyes. Mio could tell, just by looking at him and sensing, that he was a ghost. He was a ghost of this village, this village filled with ghosts that seemed only to be able to try and kill her, but she knew he didn't feel like doing that. He was trying to help her, her mind told her, and she managed a strained smile.

She turned, pushing open the door and leaving from the back of the storehouse. Mio dusted herself off, just to put finality in what she must do, and then pulled her head up to stare up at the sky. No stars dotted the expanse of pitch black night, giving no relief to this somber feeling settling in her chest. She sighed, shaking her head, and began her search for the keys she would need, the keys she needed to save her dear, crippled twin sister from the "jaws of death"…

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End of Chapter Three: The Boy Behind the Bars

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